Kangaroo courts on campus: a legal travesty

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last week, the Guardian published a report on sexual abuse on UK university campuses. It detailed a number of stories involving young women telling university staff members that they had been sexually assaulted, and the staff’s allegedly poor response. The staff were accused of ‘victim blaming’ and minimising the students’ complaints. The Guardian suggests that a standardised, country-wide set of guidelines be established for universities when dealing with allegations of sexual assault.

Such a standardised system has a precedent. In the US, alternative tribunals of the kind anticipated by theGuardian report already exist on campuses. American universities have a federal duty under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 to prevent sexual harassment and abuse. Today, it is becoming more common in the US to formulate what is known as a ‘Title IX complaint’ after the police have indicated that there is insufficient evidence to pursue a criminal case. A website set up to offer advice on launching Title IX claims says this procedure can be a useful ‘alternative’ to pursuing a complaint where the normal requirements of due process cannot be fulfilled. Not surprisingly, these campus tribunals have not turned out well. There have been successful lawsuits against American universities for failing to treat fairly defendants accused of sexual assault. Many defendants have complained of having few due-process rights. Students have been expelled on the basis of weak evidence, only to be cleared later.'